Calf Pics

Help Support CattleToday:

larryshoat

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
3,475
Reaction score
1
Location
Ohio
DSCN0699.jpg


Here is the latest group of calves .

Larry
 
Looks like you have a barn full. I love the red one's.. :heart:

They all look really healthy and thrifty Larry ,great job.. :)
 
Thanks HD, you know I thought all the girls would like that little speckled calf in the first pen, but all the women have liked the red calf . That shows what I know :lol2: .

Larry
 
Larry Mr. HD and I were always partial to the red and white Holsteins especially when they were a surprise. One of the best gifts I ever got for my birthday was a set of twin Ruben daughters ..Hubby woke me up at 5:30 am and said come out to you calf barn ASAP. I went out as fast as I could and waited ,,well he walked in with a red and white gal in each arm..They were the cutest things I have had ever seen..He said happy birthday ,these are for you..It was a great day.. :D
 
hillsdown":3vbn2w6e said:
Larry Mr. HD and I were always partial to the red and white Holsteins especially when they were a surprise. One of the best gifts I ever got for my birthday was a set of twin Ruben daughters ..Hubby woke me up at 5:30 am and said come out to you calf barn ASAP. I went out as fast as I could and waited ,,well he walked in with a red and white gal in each arm..They were the cutest things I have had ever seen..He said happy birthday ,these are for you..It was a great day.. :D

Those are the kind of days that make you know why you love this business . Watching cattle that feel good and are doing well is something I never get tired of .

Larry
 
Keren":21e0acvy said:
That speckled calf looks mouldy, Larry! :lol2: I never thought of that, but he does .

I'm with you hills, I love the red ones :heart:

Bet they are keeping you busy ...
They are weaned now, we just turned them all together today, so it shouldn't be too bad from now on .

Larry
 
Larry, do you have many problems with navel sucking? I notice that red calf sucking on his buddy on the right there ...

I'm always sad and relieved at the same time when weaning rolls around :???: Cant help it, I love feeding the little boogers but at the same time its a lot of hard work and time and a relief when you get a break for a while
 
Keren":9t6axt6b said:
Larry, do you have many problems with navel sucking? I notice that red calf sucking on his buddy on the right there ...
Yeah, with 2 in a pen they do suck each other some . The reasons I stay with the 2 in a pen are 1. less penning 2. the calves seem to be less stressed at weaning time since they're already used to sharing feed and water with another calf .3. I only have to climb in half as many pens to work on the calves .

I'm always sad and relieved at the same time when weaning rolls around :???: Cant help it, I love feeding the little boogers but at the same time its a lot of hard work and time and a relief when you get a break for a while
I enjoy it too, especialy when things are going good . Right now here calves are about $50 each and fat steers can be contracted in the 80s, so that leaves some room for profit .

Lrayy
 
I've never had a problem with navel sucking, mind you I have not reared calves on a large scale. I bottle feed or use calfaterias etc. and I had a lady tell me the other day that I am doing it all wrong, that bottle/teat feeding will cause navel suckers and later or self suckers or heifers that nurse each other, and that one should only ever bucket feed and that way they dont suck navels or anything.

Your thoughts?
 
larryshoat":25b1pamu said:
Thanks HD, you know I thought all the girls would like that little speckled calf in the first pen, but all the women have liked the red calf . That shows what I know :lol2: .

Larry
Ha! I saw the pic and thought "LOVE that speckled calf!" Didn't even notice a red til I read hd's response. :lol2: As they say around here "Shoot into a flock and you are bound to hit a couple!" :lol2: ;-)

Barn looks great, is nice to see all so clean, not tied, clean bedding, pairs instead of one or two large pens and barn fans. It isn't any wonder you have a high rate of healthy calves. As much as I like babies, I am sure more than glad I am not mixing milk for that crew though!
 
Keren":1wh0m3dy said:
I've never had a problem with navel sucking, mind you I have not reared calves on a large scale. I bottle feed or use calfaterias etc. and I had a lady tell me the other day that I am doing it all wrong, that bottle/teat feeding will cause navel suckers and later or self suckers or heifers that nurse each other, and that one should only ever bucket feed and that way they dont suck navels or anything.

Your thoughts?

Sweetheart, if you were doing it all wrong you would probably not still be doing it . You're doing it different from her and she can't handle that, that's her problem, just inore it .

As far as suckers, they usually quit after they're weaned, if not there are ways of handling that .

Larry
 
Jeanne - Simme Valley":xjbdetbd said:
Larry - great looking group. Lots of work! I love the speckled one!! Not "moldie" - "muted". :banana:

Thanks Jeanne, I'm glad to hear some votes coming in for the speckled calf, I don't want him to get a complex or something :lol2: .

Larry
 
angie":u7g40dnb said:
larryshoat":u7g40dnb said:
Thanks HD, you know I thought all the girls would like that little speckled calf in the first pen, but all the women have liked the red calf . That shows what I know :lol2: .

Larry
Ha! I saw the pic and thought "LOVE that speckled calf!" Didn't even notice a red til I read hd's response. :lol2: As they say around here "Shoot into a flock and you are bound to hit a couple!" :lol2: ;-)

Barn looks great, is nice to see all so clean, not tied, clean bedding, pairs instead of one or two large pens and barn fans. It isn't any wonder you have a high rate of healthy calves. As much as I like babies, I am sure more than glad I am not mixing milk for that crew though!

Thanks angie, we mix milk 60 gallons at a time and have a pump and hose to fill the bottles, so it's not so bad .

Larry
 
Wow what a beautiful barn full! I'm jealous to of your barn. But not of all the work it takes for that many. The most I have ever had on bottle was 27, all in huts and mixed one bottle at a time. I cant imagine your numbers. They look great and from your previous post of your finishing barn your set up really great so you should have a great year. I sure hope the prices turn around soon for us feeding out Holsteins. Thanks for the pics.
 
Gorgeous calves!!! I have 2 Holsteins that I am bottle feeding right now and can't imagine what it's like to feed and care for as many as you have! You sure have a nice set up. I look forward every year to getting my 2 little steers and can't sleep the night before and am all giddy when I go to pick them up! Pretty pitiful I know! They are just so cute and fun to feed. My daughters argue about who "gets" to feed the calves-and not just the first week we have them, either! I love when they get to be out of their pens and clumsily jump, fall, and butt each other. It's better than a vacation to me!
 
I had a lady tell me the other day that I am doing it all wrong, that bottle/teat feeding will cause navel suckers and later or self suckers or heifers that nurse each other, and that one should only ever bucket feed and that way they dont suck navels or anything.

Your thoughts?

Utter nonsense. :D

Actually, I'm using teats especially designed to 'satiate' the calves' suckling instinct so that they don't suckle each other after feeding (Milkbar). They still do. Just as they do with every other teat type I've ever used, and drinking milk from buckets from birth.
The jury's still out on whether navel/udder/ear sucking is in fact a problem or if it's safe to leave them to it. I can't stop 'em, and I've never identified problems from it.

Nice high barn. I'd call that over-crowding *shudders* but I suspect my eye is attuned to either open fields or low-roofed sheds, and the extra airspace makes it okay.
 
MO_cows":2x9kjziv said:
Nice setup, and the calves look happy and healthy. One person taking care of all those??? :tiphat:

I have some High School kids come out some, but they're very undependable . I suppose that's a topic for another thread :lol2: .

Larry
 

Latest posts

Top